Get ready for a whole new take onstar-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet,
West Side Story, bad boy meets good girl...
At Fairfield High, everyone knows that south siders and north siders aren’t exactly compatible elements. So when cheerleader Brittany Ellis and gang member Alex Fuentes are forced to be lab partners, the results are bound to be explosive.
Neither teen is prepared for the most surprising chemical reaction of all – love. Can they break through the stereotypes and misconceptions that threaten to keep them apart? YA, Fiction
REVIEW:
Simone Elkeles has taken an old formula and made it her own. The story of bad boy/ gang member Alex and pretty cheerleader Brittany could have been another formulaic teen YA novel, but this story doesn’t contain any of the clichés or cheesiness of some of the other books from this genre.
These are characters that you can relate to and care about. I loved this book right from the start! Told through the alternating pov’s of Brittany and Alex, you get to see who these two people really are – not the façade they use in front of others. Sometimes I’m irritated by alternating pov’s, but not here, they flowed beautifully only adding to the story.
Elkeles has pitch perfect pacing and character development, right down to the names she chose for the MC’s. Perfect! And the sexual tension is off the charts without being frustrating for the reader. The side characters were well written and only added to the story.
The best compliment that I can give this book is that I was reading it faster and faster to find out what happened ……then saw I was over halfway done and slowed down to make it last longer.
Loved: The thing I loved most is that Brittany & Alex weren’t perfect but they learned from their mistakes!!
Nitpick: I could have easily read more! I want to know everything about these two!
Rating: 4 out of 4! Now this is how teen romance should be written! And I’m searching now to find everything else Simone Elkeles has ever written!
* Thanks to Tiger ( Tigers All Consuming Books) for her constant tweets saying how great this book was....I caved to the tweet / peer pressure - bought the book and I'm sooo happy I did!
Author website: Simone Elkeles
Buy the book! Perfect Chemistry
Hurrah! You're so welcome. :-) Good point abt the perfect pacing--Elkeles keeps the story flowing so neatly, I never once skipped over a page. And the characterization! Brittany and Alex's true selves were so loveable.
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right! I didn't skip even one single word in this book. I wasn't frustrated by the characters either - like I have been so much lately. I loved Brittany right away - even though she was a cheerleader - usually takes me awhile to warm up to that type of person.
ReplyDeleteThis was one of my top 2 favorite reads of last year. (The other was Catching Fire.) I've been telling everyone I know to read it.
ReplyDeleteDid you know that the sequel about Alex's brother, Carlos, was just released? It's called Rules of Attraction. I can't wait to read it. :0)
Dawn - Loved Catching Fire too - it was on my top 10 list last year as well.
ReplyDeleteI checked out her website & it's safe to say I'll be reading EVERYTHING. I saw this book last year and kept passing it over thinking it was one of those cheesy bad boy/good girl books....but oh man - it's fantastic. I'll join you in bugging everyone to read it :-)))
Oh, wow, this actually does sound pretty great ... I really assumed from the blurb that it would be The Super Clichéd Book of 2010, but you've just convinced me to read it (",).
ReplyDeleteI am especially *looking forward* to all this sexual tension :D
Awesome review! i reallly want to read this one!!
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